The Daily Bruin

This past September, the Student Life Office offered a nine- (9) hour self-defense workshop for interested students. However, in light of last week’s incident on campus, we would like to assess student and employee interest in taking a two- (2) hour self-defense workshop in the next couple weeks (date and time yet to be determined).

If this interests you, please contact Abby Burgess (aburgess@georgefox.edu) in the Office of Student Life by Tuesday, April 20 at 5 p.m. We will also continue to offer the nine- (9) hour self-defense class in September for interested students and employees.

Following the passage of the Health Care Reform Bill in March, we anticipate some changes over the next several years, many of which remain to be seen. One change that is supposed to be effective this first year is the extension of coverage to adult “dependent” children up to age 26, regardless of marital status. Several employees have already asked about this, but it is not yet clear when this provision takes effect.

We are working with our broker, USI, to get clarification about the next steps with regard to a timeline and requirements for implementation. The law specifies that it takes effect not sooner than six months from March 23, 2010 (the date the law was signed), but it may not be effective until the new plan year following that date (April 1, 2011).

We are also waiting to hear exactly what the definition of “dependent” will be as it relates to eligibility for medical coverage through a parent. It may be different than the usual IRS definition to determine if a child can be claimed as a dependent. Additionally, it’s possible there may be litigation attempting to delay implementation of the law, which creates even more uncertainty.

We will let you know the answers to these questions as soon as they become available.

– Human Resources

Please join the Communication Arts Department as we honor Richard Engnell’s 32 years of service to the university. We will say farewell to Richard at a gathering from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, in the Stevens Center (Duke) Atrium.

Effective Monday, April 19, all students not wearing shoes will not be permitted into the Klages Dining Room. We have had a significant number of complaints from fellow students who are offended by those who choose to come in with bare feet and disregard the hygienic issues caused by not wearing shoes. Please respect your fellow students and wear shoes, flip flops, sandals, etc.

An all-employee meeting is scheduled from 3:45 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in Hoover 105.

For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available for viewing at stream.georgefox.edu/live/commmtg.sdp. For best results, use Mozilla Firefox for your web browser, and your computer must have QuickTime Player installed. Simply copy the link into the address bar of your browser. If you have any problems, contact the Service Desk at ext. 2569.

In addition, a chat room has been set up to allow for interaction. A video recording of the meeting will be available for viewing the following day at itunesu.georgefox.edu.

A commissioning time for all those going on mission trips, serving at camps, or conducting any kind of summer ministry is scheduled during this Monday’s chapel at 10:40 a.m. Please come and participate in this time of commissioning and prayer!

Since mid-January, Bon Appetit has monitored and weighed all the waste coming back to the dishroom on a daily basis and posting the results on a weekly basis. We’re pleased to announce that over the past 12 weeks we’ve seen an overall waste reduction of 30 percent, which far exceeded our expectations.

By everyone’s efforts, this has amounted to more than 20,000 pounds of leftovers and waste not being hauled to the local landfill, which is remarkable. Although it may not seem like much, every ounce kept out of the waste steam counts, especially when we serve close to 15,000 meals each week.

Everyone is to be congratulated. Let’s keep it up, especially as we approach Earth Day next Thursday, when the lunch we will serve will reflect menu items with minimal carbon impact on our environment.

Denny Lawrence,
Bon Appetit

Saturday, April 17, 10 a.m. – Track & Field in Rich Allen Classic, Colcord Memorial Field

This is the last home meet for the Bruins this spring. Linfield and Pacific will be the visiting teams.

For more information, visit the George Fox sports website at gfubruins.com or call the sports information office at ext. 2926.

Don’t miss your chance to participate in Empty Bowls: A Night for Haiti and receive a ceramic bowl with a soup dinner for $12 (maximum $48 per family) this Friday, April 16, between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. in the Klages Dining Room. If you haven’t submitted your R.S.V.P. yet, go to georgefox.edu/haiti. Walk-ins are welcome as well.

The seminary is hosting an information meeting about its new Christian Earth Keeping (CEK) offering at noon Thursday, April 22, in Portland Center 260. Bring your lunch and get answers about the seminary’s newest 12-hour concentration. Daniel Brunner (Seminary) and the CEK academic team will be available to answer any of your questions. Beverages and cookies provided.

Security Services has key chain whistles with the security phone number on them available in the Office of Student Life. Please feel free to stop by and pick one up.

Remember to stop by Plant Services’ surplus equipment and inventory sale Thursday and Friday, April 15-16, in the Villa Academic Complex. The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days and will include furnaces, appliances, duct work, cabinets, light fixtures, doors, laminate pieces, desks, panel walls, couches, tables, side chairs, bookshelves, and much more.

Urban Services’ scheduled trip to Salem this Friday, April 16, has been canceled. However, the group will be going to Portland Friday as scheduled, leaving from the Bruin Den at 5:30 p.m.

Are you interested in health care or medical missions? Come hear Devin Harrison, MD, present “Medical Missions: Eye Care in Africa,” at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, April 15, in Hoover 105. Dr. Harrison worked in Nigeria for two years caring for some of the world’s neediest patients, performing eye surgeries and training local doctors.

For his efforts, he received the 2008 American Academy of Ophthalmology Humanitarian Award. Contact Jim Smart if you have any questions.

Now is the time to submit your request for business cards. Marketing Communications will be processing a business card order soon. Place your order directly from B&B Print Source by Tuesday, April 20.

The login user ID is “gfubc” and the password is “gfu123. You may contact Danette Newkirk (Marketing Communications) if you have any questions.

Now that we have had an opportunity to see how the Blackboard Connect works, it is time for another message about how to update your information in MyGFU.

For this new system to work, it is essential for you to enter your personal cell phone number into MyGFU. Please follow these simple directions to enter your personal cell phone number:

• Login to your MyGFU account
• Click on SELF SERVICE
• Click on CAMPUS PERSONAL INFORMATION
• Click on PHONE NUMBERS
• On the PHONE TYPE pick list, choose the phone type you are registering.
• Type in your cell phone number
• Click SAVE
• If you need to add a number, first click on ADD A PHONE NUMBER
• Make sure you click SAVE after each change

Thank you for taking the time to do this today. If you have any questions, please contact Jere Witherspoon (jwitherspoon@georgefox.edu) in the Office of Student Life.

Friday is last day to submit nominations for April Employee of the Month – our last employee of the month award this academic year.

Please send an e-mail to Peggy Kilburg (HR) if you would like to nominate a support staff member or administrator for April Employee of the Month. Your e-mail should include the person’s name, job title, a concise but specific summary of this person’s contribution(s) to the university, its students, and/or its employees in the past 30 days or so (what was done, who was impacted, etc.), and any other information that you believe makes this person deserving of this award.

Please submit your nomination by Friday, April 16. The President’s Executive Leadership Team will then select the Employee of the Month from the nominations submitted. The winner will be announced at the all-employee meeting on Thursday, April 22, and will receive a $100 gift card to The Allison.

Tax day is coming! Be sure you stop at Mail Services to have your tax letters weighed to determine if you have enough postage. The Internal Revenue Service will not accept them if there is not sufficient postage.

The campus community is invited to enjoy an adaptation of Quo Vadis: a Story of Christianity in Ancient Rome at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 16, in the Villa Academic Complex’s Room 117 (there is a 7 p.m. prelude to the show).

This is the final performance of the English Language Institute’s Level D speech class under the direction of Ron Parrish. Ron will be saying “aloha” to us and moving to Hawaii.

Cinema and media communication students will showcase their work from the past year at the annual Fox Film Festival this Friday and Saturday, April 16-17.

Friday’s films will be shown beginning at 4:45 p.m. at the Cameo Theater in downtown Newberg. Tickets are $5 (cash only) and will be sold at the Cameo box office prior to the presentation. Films that night will showcase productions that do not contain copyrighted material.

On Saturday, a free showing is set for 6:30 p.m. in Bauman Auditorium and will feature films that do contain copyrighted material. An awards ceremony will follow Saturday’s session, and desserts will be served. Films featured the first night will not be repeated on the second night.